Last updated on June 20th, 2023 at 01:30 pm
There are many people today that enjoy playing America’s favorite pastime, baseball. Any baseball player knows the importance of baseball glove care because without it, one cannot play or perform in the field effectively.
There are many different tips and suggestions on how to take care of baseball gloves. Most people aren’t even sure how long baseball gloves should last. With the proper glove care, baseball gloves should last a baseball player about 3 years. In order for your baseball glove care to last this long, it is important that you pay attention to these baseball care tips.
Moreover, if you’re looking for the right information on different types of baseball gloves to make your first purchase then read this article!
04 General Baseball Glove Care Tips
Keeping Your Baseball Glove Lasting
The first tip is to keep your baseball gloves in a cool location that is dry and clean. Never leave your glove in places of extreme heat because this will ruin the leather of your baseball gloves. Places to avoid are: the trunk of a car, outdoors in the sun, or near a fire or oven.
How to dry a wet baseball glove?
The next tip is for people who’re looking for a solution to how to dry a wet baseball glove! So, if your baseball gloves happen to get wet, towel it off. Then let it air dry so it does not get moldy.
Never place your wet baseball gloves in an oven or microwave and never place it near any heat source to help it dry. If you do, you will ruin the leather of your baseball gloves. This is the common mistake players do in baseball glove care.
Oil baseball glove care
One of the most important tips has to do with oiling your baseball gloves. Never oil your baseball gloves more than twice a season.
Oiling your baseball gloves more than usual will again ruin your baseball gloves. Only use oils that are made for baseball gloves. These can be found at your local baseball gear store.
A good baseball glove oil to try is called “Glovolium.“
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Another tip about baseball glove care oil is to use an oil that the glove manufacturer recommends. Some baseball gloves are pre-oiled and can only use a certain type of oil.
Some oils that you should stay away from are: linseed oil, neatsfoot oil, or any type of silicone spray. This is because these types of products eventually harden the leather of baseball gloves and they make the baseball gloves heavier.
Read the Baseball Glove Care Manual
The last tip regarding the baseball glove care is to read the product manual that comes with your baseball gloves.
All baseball gloves are different and some have different needs than others. Pay attention to the specific instructions that your particular baseball gloves have.
It’s time to deep-dive more into the topic of how to dry baseball glove:
How to Dry a Wet Baseball Glove
Moisture and heat are the enemies of leather baseball gloves. Usually, many players put their glove in the oven to dry it out before a game. If your glove gets wet, so don’t put your glove right in the oven or a microwave unless you don’t care about ruining it.
Instead, place the baseball glove in a dry place after toweling it to absorb the excess moisture. As it almost dries, place a baseball, or softball glove in the pocket and tie a rubber band around the glove to help shape it. The glove should not be wet when you do this, but in the final drying stages applies oil at the beginning of the season and at the end.
No more oil unless you drop it in the lake or the swimming pool. Most manufactures recommend petroleum jelly instead of linseed, neat’s-foot oils, which tend to close the pores and saturate the glove. More oil is not better. Use the glove. Catch it, bend it, and catch some line drives while scraping across the lawn.
Conclusion
With all of these tips in mind for baseball glove care, you should be able to easily care for your baseball gloves. If you regularly follow these tips, you are sure to lengthen the lifespan of your baseball gloves. Then you can have your favorite baseball glove around for years to play your favorite game.
